Welcome

Welcome to this weeks topic of BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices).  While reading through the material, watching the videos, or participating in the activities, keep in mind how you (or your school district) could incorporate BYOD.

You will be reading through several sections that deals with BYOD which include:

  • Benefits and Drawbacks of BYOD
  • BYOD in the Classroom
  • BYOD Policy
  • The Future of BYOD
We encourage you to participate in many of the activities and discussions questions as possible.  We believe our topic is very relevant to many K-12 schools and districts and we would like everyone to learn about BYOD through meaningful conversation and posts.  Enjoy your week!

 BYOD – Bring Your Own Device

BYOD is an acronym for “Bring Your Own Device” and in education it refers to the practice of allowing students to bring their own mobile devices to school that are capable of connecting to the school network and Internet.  These devices include laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, PDAs, e-readers, and gaming devices.

BYOD is a relatively new concept in K-12 schools, although it is fairly commonplace amongst higher education institutions.  Schools today are more likely to ban cell phones and similar devices then encourage them to be brought to class.  But this type of thinking is starting to shift and interest in BYOD is increasing.  BYOD is not only an educational phenomenon, but can also be seen in the world of business and government.

The BYOD approach raises many questions, but many benefits are starting to be seen with schools and districts who have adopted this method of technology use.  As you are reading through this week’s presentation, keep these questions in the back of your mind:

  • How do you know if a policy will work for your school?
  • What do you do about the students that don’t have devices?
  • Will teachers accept this change into their classrooms?
  • Is there enough broadband service to handle all the devices?  If not, can your school or district afford to upgrade?

To help launch this weeks topic and provide a real world context to our discussions, please take a few minutes to watch the following video, which highlights the issues one secondary school is dealing with, as it considers the possibility of implementing a BYOD program:

Other names for BYOD are: BYOT  (Bring Your Own Technology),  BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop), and BYOC  (Bring Your Own Computer).

This video helps introduce why schools should start to incorporate BYOD.

 

References

BYOD – bring your own device. Retrieved from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/BYOD.html

Converge. (n.d.). One-to-One 2.0.  Building on the “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) Revolution.  Retrieved from: http://www.samsung.com/us/it_solutions/innovation-center/downloads/education/white_papers/One-to-One_2.0_-_Handbook.pdf

Wilson, A. (2012, May 25). 4 Keys for BYOD Technology in the Classroom. Securedge Netowrks. Retrieved from: http://www.securedgenetworks.com/secure-edge-networks-blog/bid/78530/4-Keys-for-BYOD-Technology-in-the-Classroom-Success

 

Leave a Reply